BOWLING GREEN, Mo. — The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC divisional round to advance to the conference championship against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 49ers and Cowboys played a very intense game that had all fans on the edge of their seats. Most of America was rooting against the Cowboys. Dallas is a very over hated team, they are hated because of their success in the 80s and 90s, and then their failures throughout the past 30 years. Cowboys fans have the famous line of, “this is our year”, which always turns out to not be their year. Both teams have historic playoff history, as this matchup was their 9th faceoff in team history. More people were betting on the Cowboys in this year’s postseason because they believe the NFL is scripted. After dominating Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round, it was looking good for the Cowboys. Then they had to face the super team that is the 49ers.
San Francisco’s Super Team
San Francisco had brought in Panthers star running back, Christian McCaffery, at the trade deadline, despite his history of injuries. In his 12 games with the 49ers, he’s rushed for 865 yards in 174 carries with eight rushing touchdowns. He has also racked up 741 yards receiving on 85 receptions, with five touchdowns. The other weapons they possess are veteran Tight End George Kittle. Kittle is in his 6th year in the NFL, all seasons have been with the 49ers. He has 11 touchdowns on the season and 765 receiving yards. Another weapon they have is utility man Deebo Samuel. Samuel can do everything, despite his normal position being Wide Receiver, the 49ers offense will have Deebo in the backfield to run the ball if needed. Of course, since they have McCaffery, this does not happen as often as it did. Then we have Brock Purdy. Mr. Irrelevant has taken over at Quarterback since second string Trey Lance and the starter Jimmy Garoppolo were injured. Purdy is 8-0 in his career as a starter, as he’s thrown for 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions this season, with 1374 passing yards. Not to mention pro-bowl Linebacker, Fred Warner, pro-bowl Offensive Lineman Trent Williams, and pro-bowl Edge Nick Bosa.
So Close, Yet So Far
The Cowboys lost to the 49ers last season in the Wild Card round, 23-17, with Dak Prescott not performing well that game. Prescott went crazy against Tampa Bay. He threw for four touchdowns with zero interceptions, while throwing for 305 yards and adding on a rushing touchdown. Dallas defeated Tampa Bay 31-14, as the Cowboys got their first win ever against Tom Brady. Brett Maher had missed four extra points in a row, despite being their best kicker.
It is true that Dallas has not reached the conference championship game since 1995, which is also the last time they won the Super Bowl, as they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17, to earn their fifth super bowl ring. There have been tons of inconvenient events that happened to the Cowboys that prevented them from moving on in the playoffs. One of those is the Dez Bryant catch in 2014 against the Green Bay Packers that was ruled not a catch. Bryant had possession of the football, until he fell to the ground and let the ball slip from under his hands. This resulted in the call being an incomplete pass, forcing the Cowboys to a 26-21 loss to the Packers, and out of the playoffs.
Another time that the Cowboys had an inconvenience is when Prescott did not give the ball to the ref, so that he could set the ball to begin the play. Dak instead gave the ball to his Center, Zack Martin, to get spike play off. Prescott failed to do so, and the 49ers defeated the Cowboys in the wildcard round in the 2021-2022 season.
Looking Ahead to the Future
Dak Prescott might not live up to the legendary names of Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, but he is better than most quarterbacks in the NFL. Up and coming Running Back Tony Pollard, has just had a breakout season. Pollard ran for over 1000 yards with nine rushing touchdowns, and 39 receptions for 371 yards and three touchdown catches. Ceedee Lamb solidified his spot as the number one receiver on the Cowboys, as he had over 1300 receiving yards in just 107 catches, averaging almost 13 yards per catch.
You can call me crazy all you want, but I believe that this team will win a Super Bowl before the year 2026. Prescott has the weapons he needs to succeed, it’s just getting past the obstacles in his way that he has trouble with. The Cowboys have a stacked offense and a stacked defense. The defense has guys like 2021-2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Micah Parsons, along with pro-bowl Cornerback, Trevon Diggs. Not to mention veterans Tyron Smith Demarcus Lawrence.
Final Thoughts
Don’t get me wrong, the Cowboys are definitely not the best team in the NFL, far from it. But they have a legit chance to contend for years to come, if this teams stays together, and if they bring in some other guys that could help make the Super Bowl drought in Dallas, come to an end.
Playoff Predictions
For the rest of the NFL playoffs for the 2022-2023 season, I predict that the Cincinnati Bengals will return to the Super Bowl, after beating Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs for the fourth time in a row( Sorry Chiefs fans). As for the NFC matchup, the 49ers will defeat the Eagles to advance to their first Super Bowl since 2019, where they fell to the Chiefs, 31-20. The Bengals will then crumble apart like they did against the Rams, and the 49ers will be your Super Bowl 57 champions.